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Science Fiction’s Uncle Ben — Remembering Ben Bova
Harlan Ellison was a notorious jerk. Women avoided being in elevators with Isaac Asimov. Heinlein’s politics didn’t always make him popular.
None of these stories have attached to another giant of the field, Ben Bova. Instead, everyone who knew him had things to say about how nice he was.
I never had the pleasure. But Ben Bova was something else; a prolific writer, a brilliant editor, a skilled science journalist, an influence upon influencers and a working futurist who envisioned a world in which science would lead.
Who was Ben Bova?
Ben Bova was born Benjamin William Bova in Philadelphia in 1932. His science fiction writing career began in 1959 with the publication of The Star Conquerors (a book he apparently was quite embarrassed by later, although it was a solid early work).
At the same time, his career as a science writer began…and in that capacity he worked for the Apollo project.
In 1971, he was tapped as successor to John W. Campbell, Jr., and edited Analog for six years, then left to start his own magazine, Omni.
He was married three times and had two children. An atheist, he was an outspoken critic of religion, whilst never, to my knowledge, crossing the line into “anti-theism.”